Test sockets for ICs and related devices are useful items which serve to secure the IC during testing and also to provide the electrical connection between the IC and the test load. Most test sockets are custom designed for a particular IC device or for a basic type of IC device.
A typical socket is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,866, granted July 20, 1993, and incorporated herein by reference. In that socket, a pair of opposed latches are operably connected to the socket's movable top and serve to secure an IC carrier package in the socket. Additionally, that socket included a rod which coacted with the movable top to shift the electrically conductive contacts between engaged and disengaged positions with respect to the IC leads.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,998 discloses an IC test socket which includes latches pivotally connected to the socket base which coact with the movable top. In the '998 patent, the electrically conductive contacts are urged between their engaged and disengaged positions by camming faces on the inside surfaces of the top. The upper edge of each preloaded contact rides against the camming faces during top movement and the moment created by top movement is transmitted to the engagement part of the contact to shift the contact between its two positions. The sockets of both the '998 patent and the '048 application rely on the IC carrier to provide the clamping function necessary to maintain constant electrical contact between the IC leads and the socket contacts.